• A true emblem of Brittany, the Gwenn-ha-Du is celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year.
  • Inspired by the American flag, the Breton flag, recognizable by its black and white stripes, was imagined by a Breton nationalist militant.
  • After taking time to become popular, it is now brandished at every opportunity by the Bretons.

You can't miss it. Whether at a festival, in a football stadium, on the roadsides of the Tour de France or at the heart of events, the Breton flag is displayed everywhere. A true symbol of Breton identity, the famous Gwenn-ha-Du is celebrating its hundred candles this year. The opportunity to know a little more about this white and black flag that the Bretons like to wave at the slightest opportunity.

A flag imagined by a Breton nationalist

It was in 1923 that the Gwenn-ha-Du was born. It was imagined by Morvan Marchal, a member of the Breton nationalist party. This young architect wanted to give Brittany a more modern flag, inspired by the American flag and the coat of arms of the city of Rennes. Very linked at the beginning to the Breton nationalist milieu, and therefore very marked politically, the Gwenn-ha-Du did not arouse support for a long time. It was not until the early 1970s that the flag finally became popular. It is today the very symbol of Breton identity and a sign of recognition for the Bretons who take it with them every time they go on a trip, whether in France or abroad.

Composed of nine bands and eleven ermines

It takes its name from its colors, Gwenn-ha-Du meaning white and black in Breton. Easily spotted by the crowd, the Breton flag is composed of nine horizontal stripes alternately white and black. These stripes symbolize the nine historical bishoprics of the region, the black stripes for the Gallo countries (Rennes, Nantes, Dol, Saint-Brieuc and Saint-Malo), the white stripes for the Breton countries (Léon, Trégor, Cornouaille, Vannes). Eleven ermines are also present in the top left corner of the flag without knowing exactly the reason for this precise number.

A flag that has no official status

Although it is hoisted on the facade of almost all town halls in Brittany, and even on that of Nantes since December 2020, the Breton flag has no official status and no protocol governs its use. Everyone is therefore free to use it as they wish. Available in all sauces, the Gwenn-ha-Du has even appeared since 2009 on the plates of vehicles registered in the region. Even lovers of Brittany but who do not live in the region have the right to display the white and black flag on the plate of their car.

A flag for whom size matters

It is well known, the Bretons do nothing like the others. On October 8, 2022, on the eve of the football derby between Rennes and Nantes, the largest Breton flag in the world was unfurled on the Place du Parlement in Rennes. With an area of 1,400 m² and weighing nearly 300 kg, this giant flag is an initiative of the association A la Bretonne! who campaigned for the reunification of Loire-Atlantique with Brittany. This same flag of 46 meters long and 31 meters wide had already been unfurled on February 20, 2022 in front of the castle of the Dukes of Brittany in Nantes.

A flag still deprived of emoji

He had appeared for a month on Twitter in early 2020. At the initiative of the association Point BZH, the Breton flag emoji had appeared for a month on the social network, meeting in passing a nice success with more than 405,000 Breton flags that had floated on Twitter at the time. Despite the buzz, Unicode, the international body responsible for validating the creation of new emojis, had rejected the Breton candidacy at the end of 2020. Not admitting defeat, the association had relaunched the operation for ten days in May 2022 on the occasion of the Eurovision ceremony and Saint-Yves, the patron saint of Brittany. In vain for now, because the giants of social networks still refuse to activate emojis of regional flags, with the exception of Scotland, Wales or Texas.

  • Brittany
  • Rennes
  • Flag
  • Identity
  • Anniversary
  • 20 minutes video
  • Plural of Breton
  • Nantes
  • Pays de la Loire
  • Society